Managing content storage, selection, and transfer for user access

ABSTRACT

Exemplary embodiments relate to methods, systems, and storage mediums for managing content storage and selection activities. The method includes aggregating content from content providers and presenting the content to a content device. The method also includes monitoring consumption of storage space with respect to storage capacity in the content device, relocating content contained in the storage space of the content device when a predetermined condition is met, and providing access to relocated content. The relocation is operable for freeing up the storage space of the content device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This applicationThe present application is a reissue of U.S. applicationSer. No. 12/166,056 filed Jul. 1, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,892,839),which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/984,445,filed Nov. 9, 2004 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,395,395), the contentsdisclosures of which each of the above-referenced applications areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety entireties.

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to managing content, andmore particularly, to methods, systems, and storage mediums for managingcontent storage and selection services over a network.

Television programming customers are currently presented with a fixedinterface into their provider's available on-screen programming listingsfrom which they make choices on programs to view. Many customers utilizepersonal recording devices in order to build libraries of preferredprograms for recurrent or subsequent viewing. These personal recordingdevices offer fixed amounts of storage, thereby limiting the amount ofprogramming that may be stored by the customer. In order to add to thelibrary, one or more programs need to be removed or deleted fromstorage, or alternatively, the storage system needs to be upgraded toaccommodate additional content. If the customer does not wish toupgrade, he/she may need to regularly monitor the current storageavailability, particularly in light of the storage requirements of anyselected programming content to be stored. This can be time consumingand burdensome for the customer. Similar disadvantages exist with othercontent storage devices such as computers, digital music devices,digital cameras, and personal video recorders, to name a few.

What is needed, therefore, is a way for customers to create and maintainlibraries of content that are easy and convenient to access and managewithout requiring upgrades to existing storage systems or theacquisition of additional storage systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to methods, systems, andstorage mediums for managing content storage and selection services overa communications network. Methods include aggregating content fromcontent providers and presenting the content to a content device. Themethods also include monitoring consumption of storage space withrespect to storage capacity in the content device, relocating contentcontained in the storage space of the content device when apredetermined condition is met, and providing access to relocatedcontent. The relocation is operable for freeing up the storage space ofthe content device.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according toexemplary embodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill inthe art upon review of the following drawings and detailed description.It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, and/orcomputer program products be included within this description, be withinthe scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alikein the several FIGURES:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system upon which the content storage andselection system may be implemented in exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process for implementing the storagemanagement features of the content storage and selection system inexemplary embodiments; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a process for implementing content selectionand security features of the content storage and selection system inexemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to exemplary embodiments, the content storage and selectionsystem provides content storage system monitoring, management, andoff-site storage services. The content storage and selection system alsofacilitates the creation and management of content libraries, browsingand acquisition of content from a third-party content library or othercontent sources, and provides security features. The storage may applyto any type of content such as documents, text files, email, images,video, sound, music, programming, and multimedia.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an exemplary system forimplementing the content storage and selection system is generallyshown. The exemplary system of FIG. 1 includes a host system 114 incommunication with content devices 102-112 via a network 120. Hostsystem 114 refers to the entity implementing the content storage andselection services described herein. Users of content devices 102-112may communicate with host system 114 utilizing one or a combination ofcommunications technologies including, e.g., satellite or cellulartechnology, circuit-switched networking, and packet-switched networking,among others. The telecommunications infrastructure utilized forenabling communications for content devices 102-112 are well known andwill be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

The term “user” as described herein, refers to one or a combination of:a consumer of content (e.g., an individual purchases a song via theInternet and downloads the song to a personal computer; an individualpurchases a compact disk (CD) from a ‘brick and mortar’ establishment;etc.); a subscriber of content (e.g., an individual receivingcable/satellite television programming, Internet services, or othercontent pursuant to a subscription agreement); or a user may be theowner or originator of the content (e.g., pictures taken on a camera orcellular telephone, a composition, story, personal home video, etc.).The term “subscriber” also encompasses other users that do not actuallysubscribe to a content service but have access to it, such as members inthe same household as the subscriber.

In accordance with exemplary embodiments, devices 102-112 as shown inFIG. 1 include a computer 102, a digital music device 104, anInternet-enabled wireless telephone 106, a television 108 incommunication with a recording device 112, and a personal digitalassistant (PDA) 110. Television 108 may also include a set top box (notshown) that includes, e.g., a wired or wireless remote control forenabling a customer to access the services provided by the contentstorage and selection system in conjunction with television set 108.Alternatively, the functionality of the set top box described above maybe incorporated into the recording device 112. Television 108 maypresent content pursuant to a subscription agreement with, e.g., a cabletelevision service provider, satellite television service, or maypresent content originating from a broadcast network or contentoriginating from recording device 112 (e.g., personal home video).

According to exemplary embodiments, recording device 112 refers to asystem that communicates with television 108 and/or the associated settop box via a wireline or wireless technology, as well as with externalsystems such as host system 114 via a service provider network as shownin the system of FIG. 1. Recording device 112 may receive instructionsfrom a computer user on personal computer 102, from the set top boxand/or television 108, and/or from host system 114 regarding whichprograms will be presented on television 108 or recorded by recorderdevice 112. Recorder device 112 may comprise memory (e.g., an internalhard drive or DVD drive) whereby digital programming signals arereceived over the communications network 120 and stored in the memory.Recording device 112 may comprise a commercial product such as TiVo™produced by TiVo Inc. of Alviso, Calif. In alternate embodiments,recording device 112 may be incorporated in the set top box oftelevision 108 as a single unit.

Computer 102 may comprise a desktop, laptop, or other similargeneral-purpose computing device known in the art. Computer 102 mayinclude memory (e.g., floppy disk drive, hard disk drive) for storinginformation such as files, documents, images, audio, applications, andmultimedia.

Digital music device 104 may comprise a portable digital recording andplaying device such as an iPod® player by Apple Computer, Inc.® ofCupertino, Calif., or an iAUDIO M3® by Cowon Systems, Inc. of Seoul,Korea. Digital music device 104 may also store digital games, pictures,and personal data such as calendars or organizers, etc. In exemplaryembodiments, digital music device 104 plays music in an audio formatsuch as Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Level 3 (MP3), AdvancedStreaming Format (ASF), or WAV. A user may download music or othercontent from the Internet via a computer and store it on the digitalmusic device 104. The connection between the computer 102 and digitalmusic device 104 may be wireline (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) ormay be wireless (e.g., Bluetooth™)). Accordingly, digital music device104, as shown in the system of FIG. 1, is in communication with computer102. Alternatively, a user may copy content from, e.g., a CD, ontocomputer 102 and, if desired, copy the content from the computer 102 tothe digital music device 104.

Wireless telephone 106 may include memory for storing items such asvoice messages, text messages, pictures, and personal information, amongothers. Wireless telephone 106 may communicate via a cell tower andmobile switching center (not shown), which, in turn, may communicatewith other networks via a central office (not shown).

In exemplary embodiments, PDA 110 comprises a wireless computing devicewith networking capability such as a web browser and an Internet ServiceProvider subscription for allowing PDA 110 to communicate digitally withother devices. PDA 110 may include memory for storing documents, files,images, applications, messages, etc.

It will be understood that other types of content devices (e.g., digitalcameras, personal video recorders, etc.) may also be serviced by thecontent storage and selection system in order to realize the advantagesof the invention. Accordingly, the content devices 102-112 as shown inthe system of FIG. 1 are provided for illustrative purposes and are notto be construed as limiting in scope.

The content devices 102-112 may include a user interface that enables auser to build and browse one or more libraries of content as describedfurther herein. It will be understood that the form of user interfacemay vary from one content device to another (e.g., voice prompts andselections via key depressions may be used on a telephone, web page userinterface screen for a computer user, etc.); however, in exemplaryembodiments the functionality of the user interface remains the sameacross all content devices. The user interface may present a list of allcontent in the user's library on a display screen of the content device.The listing of content stored locally on the device and the contentstored on the network may be integrated and displayed to the user insuch a way that the actual storage location of the content (e.g.,content device 102-112, storage device 118) is transparent to the user.A user may also share a ‘view’ of his/her library with others on anothercontent device via the user interface.

Host system 114 provides content storage and selection system servicesto its customer/user base. In exemplary embodiments, host system 114includes a server 116 that executes a content storage and selectionapplication. Server 116 may comprise any suitable high-speedmicroprocessor capable of handling the volume of activities provided bythe features and functions of the content storage and selectionapplication. Server 116 may be accessed over the communications network120 and may further include a security feature or firewall (not shown)in order to protect the integrity of the data stored within host system114. Other security features are described further herein.

The content storage and selection application may include business rulesfor monitoring and removing selected content from a content device,managing the off-site network storage system, establishing andmaintaining user accounts, and implementing security features asdescribed herein. The content storage and selection application includeslogic that performs functions such as determining what content will bestored locally on a user's content device and what content should bestored on the network (i.e., storage device 118). Various criteria maybe utilized by the logic for making these determinations. For example,individual user preferences may be considered. Other criteria mayinclude the total storage capacity of the content device, the availableremaining storage in the content device (e.g., when 80% full, relocatecontent items to network storage), the length of time a particularcontent item has been stored in the user's library (e.g., content itemsstored longer than five days will be relocated to network storage), andwhere the content to be added to storage exceeds the available remainingstorage in the content device.

The content storage and selection application may also include logic forinferentially determining how to manage content storage. For example,the logic may determine that frequently accessed content should remainin local storage on the user's content device in order to allow forquick retrieval. By monitoring users' activities conducted with respectto the users' content libraries, the content storage and selectionapplication may identify relationships and similarities between thevarious libraries as well as the activities conducted therein. As aresult, users may be provided with suggested or preferred content (e.g.,users who purchased DVD “A”, also purchased DVD “B”). This logic may beexecuted at host system 114 or may be shared with content devices102-112.

In exemplary embodiments, host system 114 includes a storage device 118that is in communication with the server 116 over a network such as alocal area network, wide area network, virtual private network, etc. Inaccordance with exemplary embodiments, storage device 118 refers to anoff-site network storage system that stores content on behalf ofcustomers. If the host system 114 described in the system of FIG. 1 is acontent provider such as a cable television enterprise, the programmingcontent stored in storage device 118 may include, e.g., broadcastprogramming, cable network programming, premium channel programming,pay-per-view programming, on-demand programming, digital music, etc.Alternatively, host system 114 may also store content received fromother sources. As described above, host system 114 manages the contentlibraries of each user. Host system 114 may also manager its own networkstorage. For example, host system 114 may maintain a single copy ofcertain content items (e.g., top ten new releases of DVDs) despite thefact that many user libraries may list the content item as beingassociated with each of the libraries. By doing so, network storagespace can be maximized.

In exemplary embodiments, storage device 118 also stores user records.User records may include personal information relating to the user(e.g., name, address, email, telephone number, etc.), accountinformation such as billing data, and user content libraries containinglistings of content saved in storage by, or on behalf of, a user.

Also included in the system of FIG. 1 is a content owner system 122.Content owner system 122 refers to an owner of the property rights to acontent item or one who possesses related property rights (licensingauthority) with respect to the content item. Content owner 122 may be abusiness enterprise that provides content to its customers via, e.g., aservice provider such as host system 114. For example, content owner 122may provide premium channel content such as HBO® programming orShowtime® programming under a subscription agreement with its customers.Alternatively, content owner system 122 may refer to an individual,rather than an enterprise, who possesses property rights in a contentitem (e.g., a copyrighted composition).

A content source 124 is also included in the exemplary system of FIG. 1.Content source 124 refers to an originating source, or distributionsource, of a content item. For example, content source 124 may be acable or satellite television service provider, an Internet serviceprovider, an online merchant, a physical ‘brick and mortar’establishment that sells, broadcasts, provides access to, or distributescontent.

As described above, host system 114 provides the content storage andselection system services to its user/customer base. While host system114 is described herein as an independent entity, it will be understoodthat the functionality of the content storage and selection systemservices may be implemented by, or in conjunction with, other entitiessuch as content owner 122 or content source 124. Additionally, the hostsystem 114 may also include a server that aggregates content from othercontent providers and selects and stores the content.

An exemplary process for monitoring storage activity and relocatingcontent for a content device will now be described with respect to FIG.2. Host system 114 monitors a customer's content device via acommunications link over network 120 in accordance with the type ofcontent device used by the customer at step 202. For example, contentdevices 108 and 112 may be linked to the host system via a DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL). Content device 108 displays programming selectedby a user either directly by channels transmitting various programming,or by a previously recorded program saved on recording device 112. Theserecorded programs may be listed in a customer library for quicksearching and access of the content. Utilizing the DSL link to therecording device 112, host system 114 monitors the remaining availablestorage space in recording device 112.

As described above, business rules of the content storage and selectionapplication may dictate when and how the customer's content in storagewill be modified. These business rules may be applied in, e.g., aprocessor at the host system 114, at the content device, or acombination of both. For example, a content device (e.g., recordingdevice 112) may be purged at the request of the customer, only when itreaches its full capacity, when it reaches a pre-determined threshold(e.g., 80%), only when the content to be added to storage exceeds theavailable remaining storage in the content device, etc.

In exemplary embodiments, if the threshold (or other criteria adoptedabove) has been met at step 204, the content storage and selectionapplication removes content from the content device (or a reference tothe content in the library); otherwise, the monitoring may continue atstep 202. Business rules may be adopted for specifying which contentmaterials will be purged (e.g., the oldest stored content, the largestcontent files, customer-selected content, least-accessed content, etc.).If the content removed does not already exist in storage device 118 ofthe host system 114, the content may be saved to the storage device 118.If the content removed does exist in storage device 118, then thecontent storage and selection application may maintain a single copy ofthe content that is replicated for each customer who accesses thecontent and who includes the content in their content library. In thismanner, network storage space may be preserved.

According to exemplary embodiments, the content storage and selectionapplication associates a link to the removed content within the userlibrary so that the customer may continue to access the content (e.g.,via a download over the network 120) at step 208. The demarcation ofstorage facility sources for content associated with a customer library(e.g., on-site content device storage, off-site network storage) may beimperceptible to the customer. The process returns to step 202 wherebythe content storage and selection application may continue monitoringthe status of the content device storage.

As indicated above, the content storage and selection system may alsoprovide security features and enable content sharing among customers.These features will now be described with respect to FIG. 3. Accordingto exemplary embodiments, at step 302 a request to access content storedin storage device 118 is received at the host system 114. The contentstorage and selection application performs authentication and validationrelating to the request at step 304. One or more security features maybe utilized by the host system 114 for authenticating and validatingrequests for content. For example, a security feature may be directed toauthenticating the individual who is requesting access to content (e.g.,via a user identification and password). Another security feature may bedirected to validating the user account and content device utilizing,for example, a security token. Additionally, or alternatively, asecurity feature may be directed to authenticating the content devicefrom which the request was received using, e.g., an identifierassociated with the content device that is retrieved over the network.Security may also be implemented by associating a customer contentlibrary with a physical transmission medium (e.g., DSL line), whichwould limit the content access to a fixed physical location (e.g.,customer home).

In exemplary embodiments, if the authentication/validation performed atstep 304 indicates that the request has been initiated by the accountowner, the content storage and selection application grants access tothe content associated with the account owner (e.g., content library) atstep 306. If the authentication/validation indicates that the requestinitiated is not by the owner of the account, the content storage andselection application may check to determine whether any permissionsexist to view the content at step 308. For example, the host system 114may have placed restrictions on the acquisition or sharing of aparticular content item listed in the content library such as in thecase of premium programming that carry additional subscriber fees. If norestrictions exist at step 308, the content storage and selectionapplication may grant access to the content at step 310. This step mayinclude including a listing for the content in the requester's contentlibrary and a link to the storage device 118 for future access to thecontent.

Alternatively, the content owner 122 may have an agreement with the hostsystem 114 whereby content may be shared to non-subscribers of thecontent owner's services provided that the content owner receivescompensation. At step 312, it is determined whether the content may besold to the user. If not, access to the content is denied at step 314.If there exists an agreement (e.g., implied or express) between the hostsystem 114 and the content owner 122 to sell/share the content, the hostsystem 114 grants access to the content at step 316 for a fee. Theagreement may provide the terms and conditions for activities such aswhich entity (e.g., host system 114, content owner 122) handles thebilling and accounting procedures for the transaction. The terms andconditions may also include digital rights management roles andresponsibilities of the entities 114 and 122. At step 318, the user isbilled for the content. In exemplary embodiments, the content storageand selection application tracks this activity and bills the requestingparty for the content and content storage and compensates the contentowner 122.

According to exemplary embodiments, the content storage and selectionsystem provides content storage system monitoring, management, andoff-site storage services. The content storage and selection system alsofacilitates the creation and management of content libraries, browsingand acquisition of content from a third-party content library, andsecurity features. The storage may apply to any type of content such asdocuments, text files, email, images, video, sound, and multimedia. Acustomer (e.g., an individual that subscribes to a content service suchas a cable television service, a satellite television service, anInternet service, etc.) may receive content from the content provider inaccordance with a service plan (e.g., basic cable service with limitedchannels, extended cable with selected premium channels, Internetservice and messaging, etc.).

As described above, embodiments may be in the form ofcomputer-implemented processes and apparatuses for practicing thoseprocesses. In exemplary embodiments, the invention is embodied incomputer program code executed by one or more network elements.Embodiments include computer program code containing instructionsembodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, harddrives, or any other computer-readable storage medium, wherein, when thecomputer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, thecomputer becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. Embodimentsinclude computer program code, for example, whether stored in a storagemedium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted oversome transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling,through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein, whenthe computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, thecomputer becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. Whenimplemented on a general-purpose microprocessor, the computer programcode segments configure the microprocessor to create specific logiccircuits.

While the invention has been described with reference to exemplaryembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situationor material to the teachings of the invention without departing from theessential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the inventionnot be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed for carrying outthis invention, but that the invention will include all embodimentsfalling within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing content storage andselection, comprising: aggregating content, remotely by an off-site hostsystem, from a plurality of content providers; providing the content toat least one consumer user content device; monitoring, remotely by theoff-site host system, consumption of a storage space of the at least oneconsumer user content device residing locally in a consumer user system,with respect to storage capacity in the at least one consumer usercontent device receiving the content, wherein the at least one consumeruser content device contains a fixed amount of storage space, themonitoring based upon the type of the at least one consumer user contentdevice; selecting content contained in the storage space for relocation,wherein the content for relocation is selected based on at least one ofhow long the content has been stored in the storage device, size of thecontent, a content device user's selection, and an inference based uponmost frequently accessed content; relocating, remotely by the off-sitehost system, the content contained in the fixed amount of storage spaceof the at least one consumer user content device when a predeterminedcondition is met, wherein relocating the content frees up the fixedamount of storage space of the at least one consumer user contentdevice; and providing a user interface, by the off-site host system, tothe consumer user content device, the user interface operable forbuilding a content library listing content contained in the storagespace of the at least one consumer user content device and the relocatedcontent, wherein a content storage and selection application maintains asingle copy of a content item in a database and replicates the singlecopy for each user content device that includes the content item in itscontent library; wherein the relocating content contained in the storagespace includes: removing the content from the storage space; andproviding a link in the content library to the relocated content removedfrom the storage space, the link providing access to the relocatedcontent.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: associating thecontent library with a user account; providing access to the contentlibrary; providing access to the relocated content; monitoring aplurality of activities conducted by a content device user viatransactions occurring in the content library associated with thecontent device user; comparing the plurality of activities conducted bythe content device user with a plurality of other activities conductedby users of other content devices via transactions occurring incorresponding content libraries of the other content devices;determining relationships between the plurality of activities conductedby the content device user and the plurality of other activitiesconducted by users of other content devices; generating a listing ofrecommended content items based on determined relationships; andpresenting the listing to the content device user, wherein access to thecontent library includes providing an owner of the user account and anon-owner of the user account with access to the content libraryassociated with the user account.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinaccess by the non-owner includes at least one of: viewing listings inthe content library, accessing content identified in the contentlibrary, and charging a fee for accessed content.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the content includes at least one of: audio; video; images;text; premium channel programming; cable programming; broadcast networkprogramming; radio programming; digital music; and pay-per-viewprogramming.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer user contentdevices include: a personal computer; a cellular telephone; a personaldigital assistant; and a television.
 6. A system for managing contentstorage and selection activities, comprising: an off-site database forstoring content; an interface to an at least one consumer user contentdevice capable of receiving content from a content provider over acommunications network; and an off-site host system performing:aggregating content from a plurality of content providers; providing thecontent to at least one consumer user content device; remotelymonitoring, via a content storage and selection application, consumptionof a storage space of the at least one consumer user content deviceresiding locally in a consumer user system, with respect to storagecapacity in the at least one consumer user content device; selectingcontent contained in the storage space for relocation, wherein thecontent for relocation is selected based on at least one of how long thecontent has been stored in the storage space of the at least oneconsumer user content device, size of the content, a selection by a userof the at least one consumer user content device user's selection, andan inference based upon most frequently accessed content; relocating,remotely by the off-site host system, the selected content contained inthe storage space of the at least one consumer user content device tothe off-site database a storage device associated with the off-site hostsystem via the communications network when a predetermined condition ismet; building a content library listing the content contained in thestorage space and the relocated content, via the interface, wherein acontent storage and selection application maintains a single copy of acontent item in a database and replicates the single copy for each usercontent device that includes the content item in its content library;wherein the relocating the selected content contained in the storagespace includes: removing the selected content from the storage space;and providing a link in the content library to the relocated contentremoved from the storage space, the link providing access to therelocated content.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the content storageand selection application further performs: associating the contentlibrary with a user account; providing access to the content library;providing access to the relocated content; monitoring a plurality ofactivities conducted by a content device user via transactions occurringin the content library associated with the content device user;comparing the plurality of activities conducted by the content deviceuser with a plurality of other activities conducted by users of othercontent devices via transactions occurring in corresponding contentlibraries of the other content devices; determining relationshipsbetween the plurality of activities conducted by the content device userand the plurality of other activities conducted by users of othercontent devices; generating a listing of recommended content items basedon determined relationships; and presenting the listing to the contentdevice user, wherein access to the content library includes providing anowner of the user account and a non-owner of the user account withaccess to the content library associated with the user account.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein access by the non-owner includes at least oneof: viewing listings in the content library, accessing contentidentified in the content library, adding content to another contentlibrary associated with the non-owner, charging a fee for accessedcontent, and compensating a content owner for accessed content.
 9. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the content includes at least one of: audio;video; images; text; premium channel programming; cable programming;broadcast network programming; radio programming; digital music; andpay-per-view programming.
 10. The system of claim 6, wherein theconsumer user content devices include: a personal computer; a cellulartelephone; a personal digital assistant; and a television.
 11. A storagemedium encoded with machine-readable program code providing contentstorage and selection services, the program code including instructionscausing a host system to implement a method, comprising: aggregatingcontent, remotely by an off-site host system, from a plurality ofcontent providers; providing the content to at least one consumer usercontent device; monitoring, remotely by the off-site host system,consumption of a storage space of the at least one consumer user contentdevice residing locally in a consumer user system, with respect tostorage capacity in the at least one consumer user content devicereceiving the content, wherein the at least one consumer user contentdevice contains a fixed amount of storage space, the monitoring basedupon the type of the at least one consumer user content device;selecting content contained in the storage space for relocation, whereinthe content for relocation is selected based on at least one of how longthe content has been stored in the storage device, size of the content,a content device user's selection, and an inference based upon mostfrequently accessed content; relocating, remotely by the off-site hostsystem, the content contained in the fixed amount of storage space ofthe at least one consumer user content device when a predeterminedcondition is met, wherein relocating the content frees up the fixedamount of storage space of the at least one consumer user contentdevice; and providing a user interface, by the off-site host system, tothe consumer user content device, the user interface operable forbuilding a content library listing content contained in the storagespace of the at least one consumer user content device and the relocatedcontent, wherein a content storage and selection application maintains asingle copy of a content item in a database and replicates the singlecopy for each user content device that includes the content item in itscontent library; wherein the relocating content contained in the storagespace includes: removing the content from the storage space; andproviding a link in the content library to the relocated content removedfrom the storage space, the link providing access to the relocatedcontent.
 12. The storage medium of claim 11, further comprisinginstructions for: associating the content library with a user account;providing access to the content library; providing access to therelocated content; monitoring a plurality of activities conducted by acontent device user via transactions occurring in the content libraryassociated with the content device user; comparing the plurality ofactivities conducted by the content device user with a plurality ofother activities conducted by users of other content devices viatransactions occurring in corresponding content libraries of the othercontent devices; determining relationships between the plurality ofactivities conducted by the content device user and the plurality ofother activities conducted by users of other content devices; generatinga listing of recommended content items based on determinedrelationships; and presenting the listing to the content device user,wherein access to the content library includes providing an owner of theuser account and a non-owner of the user account with access to thecontent library associated with the user account.
 13. The storage mediumof claim 12, wherein access by the non-owner includes at least one of:viewing listings in the content library, accessing content identified inthe content library, adding content to another content libraryassociated with the non-owner, charging a fee for accessed content, andcompensating a content owner for accessed content.
 14. The storagemedium of claim 11, wherein the content includes at least one of: audio;video; images; text; premium channel programming; cable programming;broadcast network programming; radio programming; digital music; andpay-per-view programming.
 15. The storage medium claim 11, wherein theconsumer user content devices include: a personal computer; a cellulartelephone; a personal digital assistant; and a television.
 16. Themethod of claim 2, wherein access by the non-owner includes addingcontent to another content library associated with the non-owner. 17.The method of claim 2, wherein access by the non-owner includescompensating a content owner for accessed content.
 18. A method formanaging content storage and selection, comprising: aggregating content,remotely by an off-site host system, from a plurality of contentproviders; providing the content to at least one consumer user contentdevice; monitoring, remotely by the off-site host system, consumption ofa storage space of the at least one consumer user content deviceresiding locally in a consumer user system, with respect to storagecapacity in the at least one consumer user content device receiving thecontent, wherein the at least one consumer user content device containsa fixed amount of storage space, the monitoring based upon the type ofthe at least one consumer user content device; selecting contentcontained in the storage space for relocation, wherein the content forrelocation is selected based on at least one of how long the content hasbeen stored in the storage space of the at least one consumer usercontent device, size of the content, a selection by a user of the atleast one consumer user content device, and an inference based upon mostfrequently accessed content; relocating, remotely by the off-site hostsystem, the selected content when a predetermined condition is met; andproviding a user interface, by the off-site host system, to the at leastone consumer user content device, the user interface operable fordisplaying content contained in the storage space of the at least oneconsumer user content device and the relocated content, wherein astorage location of the content is transparent to a user based on thedisplaying; wherein relocating the selected content includes: removingthe content from the storage space; and providing a link to therelocated content removed from the storage space, the link providingaccess to the relocated content.
 19. A method for managing contentstorage and selection, comprising: aggregating content, remotely by anoff-site host system, from a plurality of content providers; providingthe content to at least one consumer user content device; monitoring,remotely by the off-site host system, consumption of a storage space ofthe at least one consumer user content device residing locally in aconsumer user system, with respect to storage capacity in the at leastone consumer user content device receiving the content, wherein the atleast one consumer user content device contains a fixed amount ofstorage space, the monitoring based upon the type of the at least oneconsumer user content device; selecting content contained in the storagespace for relocation, wherein the content for relocation is selectedbased on at least one of how long the content has been stored in thestorage space of the at least one consumer user content device, size ofthe content, a selection by a user of the at least one consumer usercontent device, an inference based upon most frequently accessedcontent, and an available remaining storage capacity of the storagespace; relocating, remotely by the off-site host system, the selectedcontent when a predetermined condition is met; and providing a userinterface, by the off-site host system, to the at least one consumeruser content device, the user interface operable for building a contentlibrary listing content contained in the storage space of the at leastone consumer user content device and the relocated content, wherein acontent storage and selection application maintains a single copy of acontent item in a database and replicates the single copy for eachconsumer user content device that includes the content item in itscontent library; wherein relocating the selected content includes:removing the content from the storage space; and providing a link in thecontent library to the relocated content removed from the storage space,the link providing access to the relocated content.
 20. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the at least one consumer user content device isassociated with an account, the method further comprising: in responseto receiving a request from the at least one consumer user contentdevice to access a particular content item, the off-site host systemauthenticating the request; and in response to the authentication, theoff-site host system granting access to the particular content item. 21.The method of claim 20, wherein the authenticating the request includesauthenticating a user associated with the request by validating a useridentifier and a user password.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein theauthenticating the request includes authenticating the at least oneconsumer user content device by validating an identifier associated withthe at least one consumer user content device received with the request.23. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one consumer usercontent device is associated with an account owner, the method furthercomprising: in response to receiving a request from the at least oneconsumer user content device to access a particular content item of thecontent, the off-site host system authenticating the request; and inresponse to the authentication indicating the request was not made bythe account owner, the off-site host system determining whetherpermissions exist to view the particular content item.
 24. The method ofclaim 23, wherein the determining whether permissions exist to view theparticular content item includes determining whether viewing theparticular content item carries a subscriber fee.
 25. The method ofclaim 23, further comprising: in response to determining that permissionexists to view the particular content item, the off-site host systemgranting access to the particular content item.